History of the Peloponnesian War

"And if there be anyone who does not accept this view, that which has taken place will itself prove his error. For you brought us over before,[*](In 427 B.C., when Camarina stood with the Leontines and other Chalcidians against Syracuse; cf. 3.86.2.) flaunting in our faces no other terror but this, that we ourselves should be in danger if we should permit you to come under the power of the Syracusans.

And it is not right for you now to distrust the very argument by which you thought it right to persuade us then, nor to be suspicious because we are present with a force out of all proportion to the strength of the Syracusans; far more should you distrust them.

We certainly are not able to maintain ourselves in Sicily without you; and even if we should prove false and subdue Sicily, we should be unable to hold it on account of the length of the voyage and the difficulty of guarding cities that are as large and well equipped as continental cities[*](ie. with infantry and cavalry, our forces being purely naval.); whereas these Syracusans, in hostile proximity to you, not with a mere army in the field, but a city greater than our present force, are always plotting against you, and whenever they get an opportunity against you singly, do not let it slip, as they have shown several times already and especially in their dealings with the Leontines;

and now they make bold to urge you to oppose those who seek to prevent these things and who up to this time have kept Sicily from being under their dominion, as though you were without sense.

But it is to a safety far more real that we in our turn invite you, begging you not to throw away that safety which we both derive from one another; and to consider that for them, even without allies, the way is always open against you because of their numbers, whereas for you the opportunity will not often present itself to defend yourselves with the help of so great an auxiliary force. But if through your suspicions you suffer this force to depart with its object unaccomplished, or, worse still, defeated, you will hereafter wish that you could see even the merest fraction of it when its presence will no longer avail you aught.

“Nay, be not moved, men of Camarina, either you or the other peoples of Sicily, by the calumnies of these men. We have told you the whole truth concerning the matters of which we are suspected, and now again briefly recalling to your minds the chief points of our argument, we fully expect to convince you.

We say, namely, that we hold sway over the cities in Hellas in order that we may not have to obey some other power, but that we are trying to free those here, in order that we may not be injured by them. We are obliged to be active in many matters,[*](πολλὰ πράσσειν, as well as πολυπραγμοσύνη below, is used in a good sense, characterizing the policy of the Athenians at their acme, as described by Pericles in the funeral oration, ii. 40, 41.) because we have many dangers to guard against; and we come as allies, now as before, to those of you here who are wronged, not uninvited, but by your express invitation.

And do not you, by constituting yourselves either judges of our conduct or by tutoring us in moderation[*](σωφρονισταί as in 3.65.3; 8.48.6; cf. Plato, Rep. 471 a εὐμενῶς σωφρονιοῦσιν, οὐκ ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ κολάζοντες, οὐδ’ ἐπ’ ὀλέθρῳ, σωφρονισταὶ ὄντες, οὐ πολέμιοι.)—a hard task at this late day!—make any attempt to divert us, but in so far as anything in our busy activity and our character is at the same time to your interest, take this and make use of it; and think, not that these qualities of ours are hurtful alike to all, but that they are even profitable to far the greater part of the Hellenes.

For everyone in every place, even where we are not already present, both he that thinks he will suffer wrong, and he that plots to do wrong—on account of the certain prospect that is ever present in their minds, in the one case that he will obtain succour from us in return for his allegiance, in the other that, if we shall come, he will run the risk of not escaping unscathed for his wrongdoings—are both alike under constraint, the latter to be moderate however unwilling, the former to be saved without effort of his own.

This common safety, then, which is now offered to anyone who may ask for it as well as to you, reject not; but availing yourselves of it as others do, join forces with us and instead of having always to be on your guard against the Syracusans, change your course and at length plot against them even as they have plotted against you.”